nyse euronext. unlocking the world's potential. ♪ mom? dad? guys? [ engine turns over ] [ engine revs ] ♪ he'll be fine. [ male announcer ] more people are leaving bmw, mercedes and lexus for audi than ever before. take advantage of exceptional values during the season of audi event. >>> welcome back to "starting point" i'm christine romans. minding your business this morning, stock futures are up a little bit. gridlock in washington over the fiscal cliff making stock investors really nervous. stocks are acting unpredictable. so watch out ahead here. companies should be making hiring and spending plans for next year. instead they're left wondering whether consumers are going to take home less money, and that government agencies can slash spending. a recipe for recession. i asked the ceo of fedex how companies plan ahead when washington is so dysfunctional. >> well i think most of the ceos look at the situation in washington with complete amazement and dismay, to be frank about it. the problem is, the ideological pinnings on both sides of this argu